


Into the Arena

by ilostmyshoe6



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Hunger Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 04:23:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4045780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilostmyshoe6/pseuds/ilostmyshoe6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place during mid-Season 7. The Leviathans have created a new experiment where people are taken and put into a Hunger Games-like arena to test their resistance to disease, monsters, etc. Eventually, Dean ends up in the arena and is tested in multiple ways, including having his emotions tested when Cas shows up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Arena

"Two more disappeared from Indiana," Sam noted, skimming over the most recent news articles on his laptop. "There's got to be a pattern here."  
Dean, after hearing Sam's news, got up and added an "x" on the state of Indiana on a map that was tacked to the wall of the most recent motel they were holed up in. Dean took a step back and looked at the whole map, crossing his arms. The whole east coast was covered, and soon the rest of the map would be too. Sam shut the lid of his laptop and walked over and joined Dean. Dean was right. The “x’s” meant that two people had disappeared from those states within the last eight weeks, all of them around thirty years old. Sam ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and sighed.  
"It’s got to have something to do with Leviathans. That's the only explanation. There's no bodies, no trails, nothing."  
Dean stared hard at the map without saying anything. "We must have missed something."  
"Dean." Sam walked back towards his laptop. "We've been to all the states where people have gone missing. There's nothing. Two people doesn't seem significant to police. People go missing all the time."  
Dean knew Sam was right. Police don’t just drop everything and search for a couple missing people. Unless they knew how to look for patterns, like Sam and Dean did, they wouldn’t notice anything unusual. This was an important pattern, however. Starting in Maine and working its way south, two people had disappeared from each state on the east coast and then started stretching westward. Sam and Dean had checked out the first nine disappearances, but could find no trail of evidence so eventually left.  
“This is ridiculous. It doesn’t make any sense. If the Leviathans needed people, why don’t they just take a whole group of them from someplace. Why a specific number from each state?” Dean started pacing in the confined space of the motel room, rubbing his jaw.  
Sam didn’t have anything in response to Dean so just remained quiet, focusing on his researching on the computer. Eventually Dean got restless and left, Sam barely hearing Dean mentioning that he was grabbing them lunch.  
Before Dean even got the chance to fully open the door, Sam was already there, ushering Dean inside.  
“What the hell, Sam?” Dean asked, trying to maneuver around his gigantic brother without squishing his bacon cheeseburger.  
“So get this,” Sam started, quickly picking up his laptop from the table and turned it to face Dean.  
Dean stared at the screen. “Grass. Wow, good job.” Dean opened his greasy bag and went to sit on one of the twin beds, unwrapping his burger.  
Sam sighed and sat on the opposite bed facing him. “It’s an empty field, Dean. A plot of land in New Mexico.”  
“So?” Dean managed to say while chewing.  
“So, it was recently purchased by a movie studio who owns a nearby set. But after I dug deeper, I found out that the movie studio is a part of Dick Roman, Inc. And guess when it was bought? Exactly eight weeks ago, the same time the first two people disappeared.” Sam’s shoulders relaxed in satisfaction as Dean wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before processing the information.  
Dean crumpled up his burger wrapper and tossed it back into the bag before he directed his attention towards Sam. “Wait a minute. You’re saying that Dick owns a movie studio? That still doesn’t give us a clue as to the missing people.”  
Sam looked weary and frowned slightly. “That’s just it. I think it’s another experiment, like the burger testing, only worse.”  
Dean met Sam’s eyes and was afraid to hear what was next. “So what is it?”  
Sam rotated his laptop once again so it was facing Dean. Dean swore. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” The movie poster for The Hunger Games was illuminated on the screen in front of him. “The freakin’ Hunger Games?!”  
“It makes sense, Dean, if you think about it,” Sam shrugged.  
Dean ran a hand down his face, grimacing. “Okay, so two people from every state are taken to do what? Compete in the Hunger Games? I don’t think Jennifer Lawrence is missing.”  
Sam smirked. “Very funny.” His voice lost all comedic aspects as he continued on. “My best guess is that the Leviathans are trying to recruit people. Maybe the ‘winners’ get a seat beside Dick. Or it might be just a sick game to them. Who knows?”  
Dean got up and grabbed two beers from the mini-fridge, tossing one to Sam. “Let’s call Bobby and Cas. We should tell them that we’re headed to New Mexico.”  
The brothers were almost in New Mexico by the time the sun was high in the sky. The ride had been more tedious and confining then usual as they were uncomfortable anxious at the Leviathans newest plans. Dean was still always grumpy that he had to drive a beat up car instead of his beloved Impala. As he pulled into the driveway of an abandoned farm house several miles away from the nearest downtown, he saw that Bobby’s truck was already parked behind the house, mostly hidden from view. Dean parked his car near the edge of the forest that was near the house, and he and Sam got out and went to grab their duffel bags from the trunk.  
“What took you idjits so long?” Bobby asked, walking down the disintegrating front porch steps.  
“Sam needed his beauty sleep,” Dean called back, slamming the lid of the trunk.  
Sam rolled his eyes and went over to greet Bobby. “Hey Bobby,” Sam nodded.  
“You boys sure know how to pick ‘em,” he said, clapping his hand on Sam’s back.  
They walked back into the house, and Dean noticed that Bobby had already gathered a supply of Borax near the door in case of trouble. They dropped their bags on the floor in the kitchen, and sat down around the table where Bobby had laid out several books and maps.  
“Did you find anything?” Dean asked, leafing through a couple of the books on the table. He held up a copy of the book The Hunger Games and eyed Bobby questioningly, but didn’t say anything.  
“There’s not much to find. Those black-blooded sons of bitches cover their tracks well. But, you guys are on to something. The movie studio that Dick owns produced The Hunger Games. And that plot of land they bought? The construction is almost already done. It just looks like a big warehouse as far as I can tell.” He slid a piece of paper with an aerial view of the property towards Dean and Sam. “It doesn’t look suspicious to anyone else but us.”  
“So, assuming we’re correct, the Leviathans are making their own Hunger Games with the people they’ve taken to kill each other just so they can have another executive?” Sam asked, looking away from the picture and back at Bobby.  
“It’s something more than that. They could have recruited people and would probably get more applicants than they took. We have to look at the bigger picture,” Bobby replied, sorting through different sheets of paper on the desk.  
There was a long pause as the three of them tried to process all the information.  
Finally, Dean spoke up. “Sam, you said it yourself that it’s an experiment. This is a perfect way for them to find out every weakness of human beings. They can test their resistance to disease, the environment, to food, water, everything. It’s a sick joke they’re playing to get information about us.”  
Bobby and Sam both stared at Dean, their eyes wide. “That’s it. That must be what they’re doing.” Sam stated. “It makes the most sense.”  
“Dean is correct.” All three of them jumped as Castiel appeared in the kitchen, completely unfazed by them.  
“Damn it, Cas,” Dean muttered, “Stop sneaking up on us like that.”  
Cas tilted his head. “I’m sorry, Dean. I thought you wanted me here.”  
“I do, I mean, we do, I mean, it’s just, never mind,” Dean stuttered, shaking his head, a slight smile appearing on his face.  
Sam looked between Dean and Cas and tried to contain a knowing smile. He hated to break yet another moment between them, but he wanted to make sure that the two of them remembered that he and Bobby were still there. Sam coughed forcing Dean and Cas to break eye contact and to get back to the problem at hand.  
Dean continued as if nothing had happened, which, in his mind, nothing did. “Alright. Game plan?”  
“We break in and shut it down,” Bobby retorted.  
“Guns blazing,” Dean added, getting up from his seat and went to grab his duffel bag. He swung the bag on the table, scattering papers in the process, and started prepping his weapons. Another fight was about to begin. 

The four of them spent the previous night going over their strategies and finding out every detail of the building that they were trying to break into. After sleeping for only several hours, the jolt of adrenaline was rushing through Sam and Dean by the time the sun rose. Once Bobby had gotten back from his coffee and grub run, the three of them ate, discussing their plans while Castiel popped in later. Finally, Sam and Bobby got into his car while Cas and Dean got into Dean’s Impala substitute and headed towards Dick’s warehouse.  
After a brief drive, both cars parked in an abandoned parking lot less than a mile from the warehouse. Dean watched as Bobby and Sam got out of their car before turning towards Cas.  
“Hey, uh, thanks for helping us out. I think we’re really gunna need the extra hand.” Dean swung open his door and headed towards the back of the car.  
Cas joined Dean and watched as Dean checked his guns and secured the lids on different containers holding bleach. “This wouldn’t have even happened had I not tried to play God,” Cas said pointedly, his voice rough and filled with guilt.  
“Dude, we’ve talked about this. Everyone screws up. Hell, Sammy and I have screwed up more times than not,” Dean replied, closing the trunk with a slam.  
“But those people are missing, and what I did to Sam-,” Cas started, but Dean interrupted him, turning towards him and holding up a hand.  
“It’s all over. You gotta move past this, focus on what we’re doing now, okay?” Dean stared down at Cas, his eyes wide, waiting for a response.  
Cas stared down at the ground briefly before looking Dean straight in the eyes. He made a nod, so slight that Dean almost missed it. “I will. I won’t let you down again.”  
Dean rolled his eyes. “Yea, yea, let’s just get moving.” He clapped Cas on the shoulder and headed towards Sam and Bobby, with Cas soon following.  
Bobby eyed Dean questioningly at the exchange between him and Cas, but Dean kept his face set in stone and went over to stand next to Sam. Sam, who had binoculars held up to his eyes, lowered them once Dean came over.  
“There’re no patrols as far as I can tell. This is probably a trap.” Sam said, passing the binoculars to Dean.  
Dean scanned the area surrounding the warehouse. Sam was right; no one seemed to be watching the perimeter. However, Dean noticed another problem. “It looks like there’s only way in from this side. I can only see one door, and there’s no way we can get on top of the roof; the thing’s huge.”  
Dean wasn’t lying about the size of the warehouse. Besides being relatively in the middle of nowhere, the building must have taken up at least half an acre, if not more, and rose a little more than 200 feet in the sky. The building seemed to be made of a type of metal, and there was only one door from what he could see of the two sides. How no one wondered what this was doing in the middle of practically a desert, Dean would never know.  
“There’s has to be more than one entrance; it would just be impractical,” Sam told Dean in a way that made Dean feel as if he was back in school.  
“Enough bickering you two,” Bobby scolded, looking between Sam and Dean. “Sam and I will loop around back, see if there is enough entrance. You and Cas take the front door. Assume it’s a trap; they probably know we’re standing here already.”  
Sam and Dean nodded obediently. They looked at one another and gave each other the silent reassurance that they always did right before they entered any hunt. Sam looked hard at Dean, and Dean gave him a slight smile and a nod.  
“Come on, Cas,” Dean started to walk away from the group. “See you around, Bobby,” Dean lifted his hand in a fake salute.  
“I’d better,” Bobby murmured.  
Dean and Cas walked the half a mile or so to the door they had spotted, careful of their surroundings. After walking in the New Mexico heat, Dean just hoped that door would lead to an air conditioned room. He readjusted one of his guns in his waistband and felt the sweat clinging to the back of his shirt. As they approached the door, no less than 100 feet away, Dean knew something was wrong, that this definitely was a trap. No one had stopped them. It was too easy. Even so, once Dean and Cas reached the door, he had Cas keep a lookout as he started picking the lock.  
“This isn’t right, Dean.” Cas suddenly said, squinting into the sandy area.  
Dean sighed in frustration. “You think?” He opened his mouth to say more but at that moment Dean heard the lock click. He motioned towards Cas, raised his gun, and kicked open the door.  
The door clambered open and the cool blast of AC hit Dean, causing him to involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. The door had led them to a brightly lit space that reminded Dean of a conference room. However, instead of the chairs surrounding a long table in the middle of the room, there was a large, inverse dome, several meters in diameter. Cas tilted his head questioningly at Dean, and Dean shrugged. After doing a quick scan to make sure that the room was empty, the two men approached the bowl-shaped structure. Dean held his gun up against his chest as he peered into in, but there was nothing inside. He was about to open his mouth to make a comment to Cas, but his words escaped him as Cas stroked the side of the structure. The lights suddenly dimmed and the object came to life. The rim of the structure turned into a projector as a hologram appeared in the metal bowl. It flickered for several seconds until almost a solid image of a desert landscape appeared.  
Cas’ eyebrows furrowed as he started pacing around the image. He watched as several other figures slowly materialized, trying to guess as to what they might be. His guess was confirmed as Dean gasped.  
“They’re people. They’re the missing people,” Dean said in shock, watching as the small figures moved across the land.  
A slow clap came from behind Dean and he whipped around. Dick Roman was smirking at him, standing tall in his dark suit. “Very good, Dean. Are you impressed? It’s the newest technology made by Roman, Inc, soon to be every home across America.”  
“What are you doing to them?” Cas asked, his deep voice sending chills down Dean’s back.  
Dick walked slowly over to the hologram, staring at his work fondly. “I’m helping the world.” His eyes gleamed. “Researching, experimenting, developing cures!”  
“By testing on people!” Dean shouted, aiming his gun at his head.  
“Boys, boys, boys. We are simply observing them.”  
“Observing what?” Cas inquired, taking a dangerously close step to the Leviathan leader.  
Dick paced around the hologram, his hands folded behind his back. “Well, if you must know,” he started, “this is the most ingenious test yet. This Hunger Games franchise has really helped us. We convinced people that they were going to be extras for these movies, therefore their disappearances aren’t noticeable. Then we simply put them in a so-called arena, and let them be, no harm done.” Dean raised his eyebrows, and Dick put his hands up in a mock surrender. “All we did was change the environment. Add a little heat, a little cold. See what they do when typhoid hits, infections spread, animals hunt. It’s a test of resistance.”  
“And so what? If a person fails, you just get another to sign up? Toss away the bodies?” Dean snarls.  
Dick smirked. “Something like that.”  
“Okay, enough of your evil monologue.” Dean released his gun’s safety, his arms not moving from his aim on Dick’s head. Cas moved, positioning himself besides Dean.  
Dick clicked his tongue. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”  
“And why shouldn’t I?” Dean asked sarcastically, tilting his head.  
“Besides the fact that you know it won’t kill us,” he started, raising a hand as Dean started to protest, “Ah, ah, Dean. You should know by now, we can’t be killed. Anyways, besides that little hiccup, you wouldn’t want to miss the best part.”  
Dean squinted his eyes, not saying anything. He didn’t lower his gun, but watched as Dick leaned over the hologram, watching intently, a smile stretching ear to ear. Silence filled the room as curiosity finally got the best of Dean and he, too, edged slightly closer to the hologram, splitting his focus between his gun’s direction and the flickering images.  
Finally Cas spoke up. “I don’t understand.”  
Dick didn’t respond, but he raised his head, his grin still glued to his face. The hologram flashed drastically and Dick turned his attention down once again. Dean watched as Dick’s gaze settled on an image forming in the center of the desert landscape. The pixels slowly came together as another figure appeared. Dick started laughing before Dean could piece everything together. Dean looked up in question, but Dick continued laughing. Dean glanced at Cas, but Cas was fixated on the person, now moving cautiously across the hologram. He felt Dean’s eyes on him and raised his eyes to meet his gaze. Cas’ eyes told Dean everything. They were filled with a combination of rage and sorrow that Dean only knew too well. He looked closer at the newly appeared figure and focused this time on the way it moved and the way it was shaped. As the person continued to run, legs too long and awkward, Dean now had no doubt as to who that was. “Sam,” Dean said breathlessly.

Without even thinking, Dean had Dick slammed up against the wall, his hand pushing on Dick’s neck, choking him. “Take him out of there!” Dean yelled, digging his forearm deeper against his neck.  
Dick gasped for air as he tried to answer. His now bloodshot eyes started to bulge but, even so, he managed a smile as he choked out a single word. “No.”  
Dean released his arm and instead slammed Dick’s head against the wall, leaving a black blood splatter on it.  
“Dean!” Cas finally intervened and tried to pin Dean’s arms behind his back. In the split second that Dean’s arms were held, Dick had already recovered from the blow to his head. He tilted his head from one side to another, stretching his neck muscles.  
Dean had freed himself from Cas’ grip, and looked threateningly at Dick, but made no motion to attack him again.  
“Take him out of there,” Dean seethed, reiterating his original statement. At Dean’s words it was Cas who made the first step towards Dick, waiting for Dean’s silent agreement and permission to continue.  
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dean.” Dick seemed to be unfazed by both Cas and Dean’s threatening posture and simply walked around them to stare down at the hologram once more. “Poor Sammy is in there for good. Another person has been added and the number stands. You’re only hope is that he survives.” Dick paused, looked up as in deep thought, then continued. “Actually, on the side note, you’d better hope that he dies quickly instead of painfully surviving. There’s no telling how long this experiment will last. Days. Weeks. Months. Not even your brother can survive all that we have planned.”  
“You bitch!” Dean screamed, and he felt the sudden urge to tear this monster apart, limb by limb. The only reservation in Dean’s head, which was the fact that they didn’t know how to kill Leviathans, prevented him from doing so.  
Cas seemed to be thinking the same as Dean and had slightly eased up on his tense posture. Dick wasn’t here for a fight. This was his plan all along, to split up the brothers and to make them suffer. Cas was so busy in his own thoughts, that he almost missed what Dean said next.  
“Take me instead.” Dean’s head was raised confidently and walked over to the opposite side of the hologram and made direct eye contact with Dick. Dean had said it in such a way that Cas knew Dean wasn’t trying to be heroic or strong; he was just doing his job.  
“Dean-” Cas started, but Dick cut him off.  
“Are you sure about that, Dean?” Dick asked, his eyes gleaming. “I mean, you were my first choice of course. I think you would do much better in the arena, gain us much better results.”  
“No, Dean.” Cas put his hand on Dean’s shoulder in a protective manner, trying to have him understand the consequences of the action he was actually thinking about doing.  
Dean turned to look at Cas but didn’t say anything. He hadn’t needed to. Cas saw the fierce love and protection for his brother in Dean’s eyes and knew there was no way of convincing him otherwise.  
“Take care of him, Cas,” Dean said, looking at Cas for what he thought to be the last time before turning back towards Dick and answering him. “Yes. Take me instead.” And Dean’s whole world went black.

 

Dean blinked several times before he woke up to the blinding sun. He was having the strangest dream and couldn’t wait to tell Sam and Bobby about it. He put his hand out to push himself up and stopped when his hand touched hot, dry sand. Dean shook his head to clear his vision and had to stop himself from gasping. It wasn’t a dream. He was in the arena.  
Dean got up, raising his arm to shield himself from the blistering sun. The morning sun that Dean thought was peaceful to wake up to now had him already almost drenched with sweat. His throat was parched and scratchy but he soon pushed that thought to the back of his head. He had more pressing matters. Dean scanned the horizon, taking in his surroundings as he walked sluggishly through the desert sand. There wasn’t much for Dean to see, however. The desert stretched as far as he could see and there was nothing else on the landscape beside the occasional brush plant or the rolling hills of sand. He couldn’t see any other person and just assumed that they had managed to find shelter somewhere. Knowing he would last forever in the heat without water or cover, Dean decided to start there first. He needed to prioritize before he went any further. He picked a direction and started briskly walking. Sometime during his hike he removed his plaid shirt over his Henley and tied it around his head in a turban-like fashion in a futile attempt to protect himself from the heat. Unfortunately for Dean, he hadn’t run into any significant foliage or water. Fortunately for him, he also hadn’t run into any black blooded monsters, either. The sun had just started to set, painting the sky with vibrant shades of pink, purple, and orange, when Dean sensed that something or someone was behind him. He turned around in time to grab the wrist of a man who held a sharpened rock in his hand that was directed toward the back of Dean’s head. Dean squeezed the man’s wrist as he twisted it back, forcing the man to cry out in pain and drop the stone. Dean was quick to react and hit his attacker squarely in the face, knocking him onto his back. Dean then placed his knee on the man’s chest and thrust his wrist under the man’s neck, choking him.  
“Who are you?” Dean growled, digging his knee deeper into the man’s chest.  
The man struggled under Dean’s weight and groaned, but did not respond. Dean focused in on the man’s cracked, bloody lips and the wild desperation in his eyes. He couldn’t have been more than 20 years old. There was nothing unhuman about him and the shock caused Dean to loosen his grip on the man. The man was able to maneuver himself out of Dean’s grasp and stumbled to regain his balance on his feet. The man stood in a defensive position several feet away from Dean, staying in a stalemate. Neither man made a move or a sound despite for their shallow breathing.  
Dean watched the man eye the rock he dropped and knew he had to intervene. He raised his hands in surrender. “I’m Dean Winchester.” Dean paused, waiting for the other man to continue. When he didn’t, Dean gestured wildly. “And you are?”  
The man looked Dean up and down, wondering whether or not to trust Dean. “I’m Ethan Nuno,” making the decision to speak up.  
“Okay, Ethan, now we’re getting somewhere.” Dean and Ethan now started pacing in a circle, still watching each other closely. “Do you know what’s happening?”  
Ethan looked around helplessly and shrugged dejectedly. “I don’t know, man. I thought I had signed up to be an extra for The Hunger Games. You know the movie series with Jennifer Lawrence? I would do anything to be anywhere near her, I mean, have you seen her…?”  
“Whoa, there, okay, keep it in your pants.” Dean rolled his eyes. “You were saying?”  
“Right, right. So anyways I signed up, told everyone about it. Everyone was super excited for me. But when the limo I thought was going to drive me to the studio picked me up, I blanked out. I can’t remember anything since then. I woke up here,” Ethan gestured around, “and assumed I was filming, but…” Ethan trailed off.  
“But it seemed too real, right? Nothing like the movie. Almost as if it was some big kind of test,” Dean finished for him, adding a serious tone to the conversation.  
A shadow passed over Ethan’s face. “It is a test, isn’t it? Some sort of government run thing? A terrorist conspiracy?” His voice started rising and it was edged in panic.  
“Hey, look, it’s going to be okay,” Dean started, but panic overtook Ethan before Dean could finish.  
“No it’s not! You don’t know what it’s been like here! I’ve seen,” Ethan shook his head frantically, trying to search for the words to describe his experience. He tried again. “I’ve seen people killing people over food and water! Diseases and animals tearing people apart! It’s like I woke up in hell!”  
Dean tried to move closer to him, but Ethan held up his hands and backed away. “No! You might be a part of this whole thing!”  
“Ethan! Listen to me. I know what’s going on, but you’re going to have to trust me. People have placed us inside this arena as an experiment. But we’re going to be fine. We’ll find a way out.” Dean tilted his head, waiting for Ethan’s reaction.  
Ethan took a pause from his franticness and instead studied Dean closely. “You know who’s doing this?”  
Dean nodded. “This is going to sound crazy. Are you going to trust me?” Dean waited as Ethan gave his nod of approval. “Okay,” Dean continued. “They’re a group of people known as the Leviathans. They-” Dean never got the chance to finish. A huge boulder that came suspiciously from the sky fell and dropped right on top of Ethan, splattering Dean with blood and other fragments of the man that stood right in front of him. Dean didn’t even have time to get over the sudden shock when a voice echoed in his head.  
Tsk. Tsk. You’ll have to try better than that, Dean, to survive. Telling people about us won’t do you any favors here. Remember, we control this experiment.  
Dean looked frantically around, trying to find the source of the voice but was only faced with the dark desert and the remnants of Ethan.  
A voice laughed in Dean’s head. We’re inside your head. You can’t escape us.  
Dean felt a prickle at the base of his neck and rubbed his fingers against it. He felt a slight bump that hadn’t been there before and the answer came to him. A tiny chip was inserted into his mind, letting the Leviathans broadcast whatever they wanted to him and to everyone else. It was probably enough to make anyone crazy if they tried hard enough, and it might have given cause to Ethan’s panic.  
Dean continued to walk in the pitch black night, desperate to get away from Ethan’s body and to escape the voices that reverberated in his head. He walked until his legs gave out on him and collapsed, the laughter of the Leviathans still ringing in his ears.


End file.
